Sun rise and shrine

Sadly, it would take a week to do all Tokyo's tourist treasures justice but a date with Japan's 12,389ft-tall highest peak and active volcano that is Mount Fuji, was calling.

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Two hours' drive out of the capital brought the peak into view, shimmering on a gloriously bright and sunny day - once again Lady Luck was shining on us. Fuji-san (as the locals call the mountain) is often shrouded in cloud and mist. Today it looked stunning, especially from our perfect vantage point on the shore of the crystal-clear Lake Kawaguchi, and the snow that had been missing just a week before due to an unseasonably mild autumn, now adorned the familiar slope silhouette like a brilliant-white shawl.

Reaching the summit has become a mark of endurance and enlightenment for thousands of pilgrims, and it is said that every Japanese citizen should strive to see the sunrise from the top of Fuji at least once in their lifetime.

Making our way around and closer to Fuji en route to Lake Ashi, we could see rising phreatic eruptions, and even though it hasn't blown in more than 300 years, the steam plumes escaping from fissures were a sobering reminder that this is still an active volcano and needs to be monitored around the clock. We arrived lakeside at Ashi where we boarded a ferry, oddly-fashioned in the shape of (for some bizarre reason) a replica European pirate ship, and took the short journey to the superbly located Hakone Hotel, just in time for a dip in the onsen - a natural hot-spring bath - a livener, and a traditional dinner before retiring after another packed day.

At dawn, even the still, chill morning air enveloping me as I gazed out over the placid lake could not quell my excitement - for today we head to Mishima before boarding the famous bullet train to Hiroshima.